Parliament today (11) approved an extension of the deadline granted to the Special Parliamentary Committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive study into the lack of preparedness for Cyclone Ditwah, and to submit its findings, recommendations, and proposals to Parliament.

Accordingly, the committee has been given until September 19 to present its report, extending the original deadline set by Parliament on January 21, 2026.

Under the initial mandate, the committee was required to submit its report within three months of its first meeting. As a result, the report had originally been scheduled to be presented on June 19.

However, with Parliament’s approval, the deadline has now been extended until September 19, 2026.

Minister of Health and Mass Media Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa was named the Chairman of the committee appointed to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah last year.

On January 21, a group of opposition members moved a motion to appoint a Select Committee of Parliament to conduct a comprehensive study on the lack of preparedness to face Cyclone Ditwah and report to Parliament and submit its proposals and recommendations.

According to the motion, the loss of lives, damage to property and damage to the people caused by Cyclone Ditwah, which is considered to be the worst tragedy in the history of Sri Lanka, have not yet been assessed and therefore the Select Committee will be mandated to conduct a comprehensive study on the preparedness and the corresponding events.

The Chair and Members of the Select Committee were appointed by the Speaker in terms of the provisions of Standing Order 101 of Parliament.